


Wait, Seven?

by omnisan



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daycare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 22:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16458416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omnisan/pseuds/omnisan
Summary: You are the neighborhood daycare lady, and a certain someone clings to you pretty quickly..





	Wait, Seven?

“I need everyone to hold hands now. If we can get to the park safely, we can all get ice cream.”

The cheers and excitement to from the kids I watched made me smile. Running a daycare and coming up with new things to do with the kids each day was sometimes more difficult that it probably should've been. Thankfully living off a side street from the road the elementary school was on made it easy to walk the kids across the street and down the road so they could play until they tired. It wasn't that hard to keep an eye on six kids, but I always had to bring a first aid and water just in case. 

Hand in hand as I preferred, we sang songs as we walked. For the most part, the kids were well behaved, but they'd also done this with me a few times already, so they knew the drill. 

One, two, three. Four, five, six. I counted over and over in my head, looking at each of them after scanning our surroundings. One, two, three. Four, five, six, seven. Wait, seven? I stopped the kids, who made frustrated noises and faces knowing we we're so close to the park. 

“Can I help you?” I asked the man, who towered over me.

His hair was a bit messy and he wore a plain blue shirt. I expected a booming voice, but he replied in one less frightening. 

“Are we going to the park?” He asked with a smile.

I blinked, stunned. I had no idea who this was, but he acted like a child, which only meant one of two things. First, he was a child predator, who simply acted like a child to break their, and my, walls before wreaking havoc. Second, this man was well into his 20’s, but had some sort of development or learning hindrance and acted more childish than his appearance let on. 

“What's your name?” I asked, trying to figure out which category he fell into. 

“My name is Caboose. Well, that's what everyone calls me, but my name is actually Michael. I like Caboose better.” 

Instinct told me he fell in the second category. 

“Miss Meyers, can we go to the park please?” Someone pulled on my shirt. 

“Okay. Caboose, can you come with me sweetie?” 

He fell in line holding hands and everyone made it to the park just fine. While the kids ran off, I pulled him aside. 

“Caboose, do you know where your parents are? Or how you got here?” 

“I haven't seen my parents in years. Can I go play?” 

“No sweetie, we have to find whoever you came here with. I bet they're very worried about you.”

“Tucker doesn't care and Church wasn't listening.” 

“Is Tucker an adult you know? Or Church?” 

“Oh, they are my friends but Tucker doesn't like me very much.” 

“Do your friends know you left them?” 

“Probably. They were busy doing something and told me to go away and now I am here. Can I go play now?” 

“Caboose! There you are!” 

I turned to see two other men not much older than Caboose running over two where we sat on a bench overlooking the playground.

“Jesus Christ, dude.” One huffed as he came to a stop. 

“Oh, hi guys! This is miss Meyers and she brought me to the park. Can I go play now?” 

“No.” Me and one of the men said in unison. 

“Can I help you?” 

“Yes you can.” The other said, sliding next to me on the bench. 

“Look, I'm sorry about Caboose, he's a little slow. I hope he wasn't a problem for you. I'm Church and that's Tucker.” 

“Dana. How do I know you're really Caboose's friends? I can't just hand him off to strangers.” 

“Miss Meyers, ah, you are so sweet,” Caboose said this time, “But these are really my friends. We all live together.”

“You live together?” I asked.

“Yeah, he's our resident idiot.” Tucker said.

“That's not very nice to say.” I scolded, so used to talking to children. 

“Tucker is not very nice. He is a big bully. Church is my best friend.” 

“Come on, Caboose, let's go.” Church said with a hint of anger.

“Aw, but I wanted to play!” 

“No, let's go.” 

“Hey Church, why don't you let him play for a few minutes. I'd like to talk to miss Meyers.” 

“No. We are leaving.” 

Now two men groaned but got off the bench, following the one named Church. I wasn't too concerned about who Caboose was leaving with. I could at least recall what they looked like if I had to report them to the police. 

As if on cue, one my the kids came running up to me with a boo boo. I cleaned it up and put on a bandaid before getting up to count the kids again. One, two, three, four, five, six. Everyone was accounted for and things were back to normal, for now. 

 

“Miss Meyers can we go to the park again?” 

“If everyone eats enough for lunch, I'll take you.” 

It was hard to refuse the kids an afternoon of fun, especially when they all behaved better than usual just to go to the park. While they all ate, I prepared by packing some small water bottles and the medkit in a bag. The skies didn’t look so promising today, but since the park wasn’t too far away, I figured it wouldn’t be that bad if we got a little wet. 

“Is everyone ready?”

I helped the kids put on their shoes and we set off, singing a song together. One, two, three, four, five, six. When we crossed the road, it seemed like the singing got louder. One, two, three, four, five, six...seven. It startled me to see the tall man named Caboose joined into the group, yet I wasn’t all surprised. I wasn’t even mad, or concerned. 

“Hi Caboose.”

“Hello miss Meyers! Can I play today?”

“Sure buddy,” I smiled. 

When we reached the gates of the park, all the kids plus Caboose scrambled off, excited to play. I took my usual spot on the bench, and a moment later heard a sigh behind me.

“He’s here isn’t he?” A tired looking Church stood nearby.

“He’s playing.”

Another sigh, “Sorry. He sees you guys walk by the house and before anyone realizes it he’s gone.”

“I don’t mind, but I can’t be liable for anything that happens to him, unless you pay me for babysitting.” I continued, “I don’t normally take…older kids, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too much to handle.” 

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Of course. This is my job, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You are a hero.”


End file.
